Photo Flash: THE BROADWAY CAST OF COMPANY BENEFIT CONCERT FOR “DARKNESS RISING” at Birdland Theater

It's a fine thing to use your art, your craft, your passion in service of others - it has been said that there is no greater purpose in life than a life lived in service. Every day the members of the performing arts community use their work to brighten the lives of others, to illuminate, to alleviate, to inspire, and quite often those performers and their colleagues behind the scenes go one step further by donating of their time and their creativity in fundraising efforts for causes in which they place their faith, belief, and charity. Darkness RISING is just such a cause.

Darkness RISING is an organization thus described on their website: Darkness RISING is a mental health awareness 501(c)3 nonprofit. We offer free community wellness workshops geared toward people of color, inspirational cover songs, visual albums, and live concerts created by Black Broadway and theatre professionals, many who have experienced a mental health condition. Our goal is to inspire conversations about mental health, address issues which directly affect the Black community, connect attendees to resources, and erase the stigma.

The members of the current production of Stephen Sondheim's COMPANY came together last night at Birdland in a benefit concert for Darkness RISING, and their efforts must have been greatly successful, considering the view from house left last night was one displaying few empty seats, and the ones that were occupied were filled with people smiling, laughing, and cheering a gifted troupe of actors and the cause they had gathered to support. As, one by one, the enchanting, heartwarming, and hilarious hosts Jennifer Simard and Christopher Sieber welcomed singers to the stage, the audience was lavished with Broadway talent and a selection of songs that ranged from deeply emotional (Matt Doyle's performance of "St. Honesty") to downright odd (Claybourne Elder's "Shower With Han Solo") with stops at magical (Katrina Lenk's "Tom"), marvelous (Kathryn Allison's "Natural Woman"), moving (Christopher Sieber's "We Look To You") and everything in between from other cast members Carlita Victoria, Khalifa White, Bobby Conte Thornton, Javier Ignacio, Nikki Renée Daniels, Kris Roberts, Terence Archie, and Ms. Simard, all of whom were accompanied on piano by Paul Staroba. Though there may not have been a unifying musical theme to the evening, there was certainly unity - unity among actors, happy to be on a stage once more, unity among friends, happy to be reunited after eighteen months, and unity among people, happy to support a noble cause. It was a worthwhile event and a valuable cause, rendering the Herculean efforts of Sieber and Simard, credited with orchestrating the eventing, extremely satisfying and happily memorable.

Learn more about Darkness RISING at their website HERE.

Find other great Birdland shows to see HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher

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